Housebuilder & Developer’s Kim Neville recently visited Samsung’s Climate Solutions new training centre in Chertsey to explore innovations in decarbonising housing.
From the outside, the building appears modest, but inside it houses first-class training facilities to support specification for Future Homes Standard-compliant homes. Samsung’s commitment to training and upskilling heat pump installers and engineers is clear – and is a key investment towards addressing the industry wide skills shortage. The centre has been designed to provide a comfortable and inviting environment to learn and develop skills.
We began with a tour viewing Samsung’s latest smart-technology equipped heat pump models, including the Mono and TDM systems. Our host, Scott Young (national training manager at Samsung Climate Solutions), demonstrated not only the technology but also the organisation’s enthusiasm and deep technical knowledge – both of which were truly contagious. Samsung’s dedication to innovation was evident throughout the visit, with a comprehensive range of products designed to support both commercial and residential projects. The company has put a sustained focus on reducing emissions and harnessing the upcoming Future Homes Standard (FHS) as a key platform.
I spoke with Andrew Faulkner, head of commercial at Samsung Climate Solutions we delved into how Samsung is assisting developers as they prepare for the FHS. Like the whole industry, Samsung is eagerly awaiting further government clarification on the details of the standard itself, including the impact on specification of heat pumps.
Andrew also provided a more detailed explanation of Samsung’s all-in one heating, cooling and hot water TDM system, highlighting that as climate change increasingly impacts on UK homes, warmer summers will mean cooling is likely to become a standard feature in UK homes. He noted that Samsung has already observed a noticeable rise in demand for not only heating but cooling solutions since the Covid-19 pandemic, a trend that appears set to continue, with TDM system supporting both heating and cooling operations.
Samsung is already collaborating with developers and aims to deepen its existing partnerships in the sector via its “One Samsung” approach. This enables a fully-integrated smart home, controlled via the new Samsung SmartThings Pro app. This has the key benefit of allowing devices from other manufacturers to be managed within the same system.